Press on Your Side: Cut off during Sandy, then hit with cell cutoff fee

Mar. 28, 2013

Written by

@dpwillis732

When their cellphones didn’t work and they couldn’t communicate with their family during superstorm Sandy and its aftermath, Natalie and Charles Fox of Neptune figured they would just hang up on their wireless service.

Earlier, they knew that sometimes cellphones don’t work. “We thought all cellphones were alike and perhaps all cellphones had periods when there was no signal,” Natalie Fox wrote.

When is enough just enough?

After Sandy, the couple, without power to their home, charged their phones each day in their car. One time, they were able to call their daughter in Florida who was able to call their sons in New Jersey. But for the most part, they couldn’t make calls.

They were surprised when a neighbor received text messages and made calls on her Verizon Wireless phone. They were under the impression that all cellphone service was impacted by Sandy. “We thought no one could connect via a cellphone,” Fox wrote. The couple used their neighbor’s phone and got through to their kids instantly.

So they slammed the receiver down on T-Mobile and headed over to Costco in Ocean Township on Nov. 1 to pick up new two phones, and a new provider, Verizon Wireless.

But leaving your cellphone carrier before your contract is up often comes at a price. In the Foxes’ case, T-Mobile hit the couple with a $400 early termination fee. After service costs, taxes and charges, their total bill was $504.69.

They refused to pay. “T-Mobile did not honor their contract by providing phone service,” Natalie Fox said in an email. “Why should we be penalized for non-service?”

The Foxes took their case to T-Mobile, but the company took a hard line. “Unfortunately, our position is unchanged,” the letter from a customer relations representative said in a Dec. 3 letter.

They could resume their service within 90 days and the early termination fee would be credited, they were told. They could also transfer their account to another person or business. “We truly regret any inconvenience this matter may have caused,” the company said.

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Subsequently, T-Mobile issued a “onetime courtesy” shaving $200 off the $400 termination fee to try to resolve the case, leaving a balance of $304.69.

The company said it regretted hearing about the Foxes’ difficulty with their phone service. “Please be advised, T-Mobile is unable to guarantee coverage in all locations and provides coverage maps on our web site which include street level approximations of coverage,” the company said a Dec. 11 letter.

But the Foxes wanted T-Mobile to remove the termination fee and all other charges. They contacted Press on Your Side.

“Is there something you can do to help us?” Natalie Fox wrote in an email. “We are seniors on a fixed income.”

While T-Mobile removed $200, it didn’t help, they said. They were unable to use their phone during the week following Sandy. And they canceled their plan on Nov. 1 and were charged for T-Mobile service for Oct. 28 to Nov. 27 so they wanted those charges removed too. “This will leave us a balance of zero,” they wrote. “We are willing to send T-Mobile back our two telephones too.”

Cutoff fees common

Early-termination fees are an unpleasant factor in wireless service contracts these days. Carriers subsidize the cost of cellphone handsets, offering them for free or at reduced prices. In turn, customers are stuck with a carrier for the contract’s term, which is often two years. Opt out early, and you get hit with the fee, which, as in the Foxes case, can be hundreds of dollars.

Press on Your Side contacted a T-Mobile spokeswoman so the company could review the Foxes’ request. The next day, she said the company had contacted the Foxes and resolved the case. Natalie Fox said T-Mobile agreed to remove the early termination fees and other charges, leaving them with a zero balance.

An email from a member of T-Mobile’s executive customer relations, which Fox provided, said the company also has removed the case from collections and instructed the collection agency to remove any negative information reported to credit agencies over the debt.

Thanks to T-Mobile for relenting and making an exception for the Foxes by absolving them of the termination fees.

Natalie Fox thanked Press on Your Side for the help. “You were our last resort,” she said.

Happy to help.

It seems T-Mobile is making other strides to be more customer friendly.

On Tuesday, the fourth-largest U.S. carrier said it was doing away with annual contracts. Rather than a sign a two-year contract and get a phone for free, customers pay for them in interest-free monthly installments and can upgrade whenever they want to. Customers can choose their service based on how many lines they want and how much high-speed data they want to consume.

“This is an industry filled with ridiculously confusing contracts, limits on how much data you can use or when you can upgrade, and monthly bills that make little sense,” John Legere, president and chief executive officer of T-Mobile USA Inc said in a statement announcing the changes.

Do you have a consumer problem that needs solving? Contact business writer David P. Willis and he will try to help. Reach him at tel:732-643-4042 or pressonyourside@ njpressmedia.com or facebook.com/dp willis732.